Summer Chiller Signing at Books of Wonder and Contest!

Where: Books of Wonder
When: August, 2014.
Who: Kat Rosenfeld (Inland), Anna Schumaker (End Times), Laurie Faria Stolarz (Welcome to the Dark House) and Danielle Vega (The Merciless).

Although I went to this event in August, I thought it would be a perfect post for Halloween Hootenanny.  During the summer I find that bookstores, signings and publishers focus on beach reads and summer romances so I was very happy to see this event on the Books of Wonder calendar.   Summer Chiller spotlighted 4 books that are scary, thrilling and creepy.

The authors talked a little about their books and then read a section from them.  (I have a theory about the secret behind Inland).   Then a Q&A followed by the actual signing and chatting.  All the authors were very articulate and friendly.  I enjoyed this so much, because I love any discussion of Horror and spooky stories in general.

About The Books:

End Times is the first in a series and Anna has gotten angry e-mails because people don't realize this. She is now careful to tell readers this.

Welcome to the Dark House is Laurie's 14th creepy book.  She doesn't have nightmares, but had one a few years ago and it was the inspiration for this book.

Danielle's book is not part of a series yet when people read the end they get mad and want to know what happens.  She got the idea from a news story that told about teens performing exorcisms with one of the girl's father.  Usually people who believe in exorcisms are religious and Danielle had to think of a way to make teen girls religious yet a bit bad.  

About the Covers:

Danielle loves the cover for her book and thinks it takes guts to have a pink cover for a scary book.

Kat loves her cover too.  It was done by the photographer actually building a corner and taking it into the ocean.

About their Research:

If you went on the authors Google history you may find the following topics: Murder, burn victims, dead rats, uses for chloroform. 

Laurie alway looks for a new level of creepy and takes things from headlines.  She also eavesdrops a lot. 

About Drawing the Line:

Danielle does not have a lot of "lines."  She feels that books like hers are basically treating teens like adults.  "It's okay if you push boundaries and it's okay if it's not for everyone.  If I can come up with it, I think others will too." 

Anna likes to go really dark.  She states that teens have a lot of darkness they have to face and adolescense is a good time to explore it because you're not an innocent child yet not an adult. 

The appetite for dark, disturbing literature is out there.

Laurie says she *does* get grossed out and confessed that she's a big scaredy cat. She feels her work is not "slashery" but more pyschological.

Kat doesn't think about it.  She just writes her story and does not write to an audience.  She understands that some people may be upset.

About Fear and Horror:

Anna would not classify her book as horror. She stated, "It's definitely creepy, but there is no guy coming after you." She always likes to research something she knows nothing about. For this book she looked into a lot of Motocross, life and work on an oil rig. 

Kate feels her book is more of a pyschological thriller. She googled different myths about people who live in the water, like Selkies and Mermaid. She then paused and informed us that it's not a mermaid book.  She enjoys being scared, although regrets it later. " I think people like the sensation but know they're safe."

Laurie explained that fear is very relatable.  It's a thrill ride and the reader is rooting for the character. There is enjoyment for audience to relate to that fear.

Anna stated that everyone has a little bit of darkness in them.  They don't want to act on it, but you can be in the darkness for a little while by reading something scary.

Danielle doesn't really get scared. Her mom used to read Stephen King to her as bedtime stories.
Her challenge is that she has to describe fear and figure out what scares people. Her editor wanted her to push it so it became a challenge.  "The first stories were tales of caution.  It speaks to people.  We need the stories."

CONTEST!

I am giving away four different books to four different winners. 
-End Times by Ana Schumacher
-Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz
-Inland by Kat Rosenfeld
-Merciless by Danielle Vega

~First prize winner will win their first choice, second winner will get the next choice, etc.
~Leave your name (use what I can announce on the blog if you win) and e-mail address on the Rafflecopter form.
~That's it! No need to follow unless you want extra entries.

RULES:
~Winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter.
~Sorry, this contest is US only!
~Please see my contest policy HERE.
~This contest ends on October 27, 2014 at 12:15 a.m.  
~If winner does not contact me within 72 hours (3 days) of my first e-mail, unfortunately another winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post by Kate - Why I'm a Midnight Book Girl

I love books.  I love all kinds of books.  I read a wide variety of genres, and I always will because I'm very much a mood reader.  Sometimes I need to laugh, or cry, or get caught up in a thriller so that I can get my mind off real life worries.  But I will always have a special place in my bookish heart for the horror books that turned me into a Midnight Book Girl in the first place. 

I don't remember my exact age when I read my first horror story, but I was still in grade school.  It was probably around 4th or 5th grade.  My dad left a copy of Firestarter by Stephen King in the upstairs hall bathroom.  There it was, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, beckoning me with it's firey title. So I grabbed it and started to read. It would be fair to say that I didn't grasp everything I was reading, and yes, the book did give me nightmares.  But I felt something spark inside me too, I was reading a grown up book!  I'd already heard of Stephen King, and had probably seen some movies based on his books by then (thanks to my older brother Patrick and his supply of horror movies to keep me in line when he had to babysit me).  The fact that Firestarter was also a horror novel only added to the excitement.  It felt taboo, but at the same time because the main character was a young girl, I was able to identify with her.  

You know, because I can set fire to things with my mind too. 

I have to hand it to my parents- they never put limits on what books I was reading.  Oh, my dad rolled his eyes a bit when I bought every single Sweet Valley High book, but because he was a very eclectic reader himself he never batted an eye at my choices (I can only assume that's because he never read a Jackie Collins novel so he had no idea the kind of smut I was reading in high school).  In fact, in 6th grade, when I re-discovered Stephen King, my dad and I listened to The Mist on audiobook whilst taking a particularly foggy/rainy drive from Virginia to Pennsylvania. 

What really got me hooked on horror was all the Christopher Pike books in the early 90s- my blog name was inspired by his book The MidnightClub.  From then on out I sought bloodier, scarier and creepier books.  I devoured John Saul, Cold Fire by Dean Koontz was read over and over again, and then there was always my first love, Stephen King.  I read some really bad horror novels too, but into every genre a little crap must fall, right?

Of course, nowadays it's not as common for me to stay up reading horror until the midnight hour.  But I'm still reading horror along with all the other genres I've come to appreciate.  Through Stephen King, I've found a lot of other great authors- Richard McCammon, Joe Hill, Richard Laymon (although, to be honest, his books have proven to be even more twisted than I can handle), Anne Rice, and tons of thriller and mystery authors.  I'm much pickier about my horror novels these days, and I tend to gravitate to the thriller aspect of horror, but I'll always be that sameMidnight Book Girl, reading Stephen King and scaring myself so bad that I have to sleep with the lights on. ;)

Visit Kate at Midnight Book Girl!

Guest Post by Jason Sizemore - Irredeemable and The Bible.

There’s a leading statement many horror writers like to use when confronted with the typical dismay and looks of distaste people put on offer when you tell them you’re a horror writer.

“The best-selling book of all time happens to be horror.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“The Bible.”

Whether the Bible is straight non-fiction, creative non-fiction, or straight up horror fiction is a debate for the religious types to take up. What I can tell you is that the Bible scared me senseless during the formative years of my youth.

I grew up in a small Appalachian coal mining community. Like most mining towns, its residents held to strong Christian beliefs. Most people attended church, often 4 times a week (Sunday morning and afternoon, Wednesday night, and Friday night). My grandmother was a diehard believer and if the preacher was delivering a sermon you could count on her being there to listen. I was close to my grandmother, and therefore I attended nearly all the same services.

The church we attended was of the Southern Baptist denomination and was moderate in its…enthusiasm (meaning no snakes or drinking of poison), but the preacher was the type to get worked up into a yelling, Bible-thumping display of passion for the Lord. His favorite topics from the Bible? Any and all passages from the Book of Revelations. The story of Christ’s torture and crucifixion. The burning bush appearing to Moses. The drowning of the Egyptians after the parting of the Red Sea. The preacher wanted you to be saved in the eyes of the Lord. It didn’t matter if you honestly had faith, or if you pleaded for salvation out of fear of burning in a lake of fire for 1000 years, just as long as you accepted the Lord as your one and only savior.

Which I did. I got baptized, too.

I was scared to death.

Growing up, I would seek out the sky whenever a coal truck roared by on the highway, for I was certain it was the trumpet call of the angel Gabriel.  The Rapture was an especially scary concept for a child my age (pre-teen). The violence of the adults in the Bible scared me. They hung Jesus Christ on a wooden cross, what would they do to me.

Nowadays, all that fear seems silly. But I was a kid with a big imagination, and when I asked my grandmother and parents if all that stuff really happened (or could happen) they answered in the affirmative.

This childhood spent in church informs so much of my fiction. It fuels my imagination. It puts a warming flame to my fears, and I like to think this helps make my horror fiction just a little bit scarier, a little bit edgier.

One of my first professional sales was of the story “Caspar.” (As an aside, you can read “Caspar” here for free: http://jason-sizemore.com/2014/05/06/free-fiction-caspar-by-jason-sizemore-from-the-collection-irredeemable/). The story is about a bad, bad man and the avenging angel he meets on Christmas day. The angel describes the story of the birth of Jesus and the three wise men before skewering the bad, bad man with a large silver cross. The creative genesis of “Caspar” derives from a desire to build a metaphor about the gentle, loving parts of the Bible with the harsh, horrific violence that also occurs in the Bible.

Most of the short fiction in Irredeemable functions as therapy for me, a way to filter the trauma of the church to the page. Am I healed? Not by a long shot! I have plenty of, shall we say, demons left to purge into my fiction before I’m done!

Jason Sizemore is a writer and editor who lives in Lexington, KY. He owns Apex Publications, an SF, fantasy, and horror small press, and has been nominated for the Hugo Award three times for his editing work on Apex Magazine. Stay current with his latest news and ramblings via his website http://jason-sizemore.com/ and his Twitter feed handle @apexjason.

The Loon by Michaelbrent Collings now available on Audible.

The Loon, a #1 Amazon Horror bestseller, hit Audible's bestselling horror titles the first week of its release.   You can get your copy of The Loon by visiting Audible. 

DESCRIPTION:

The isolated, maximum security prison for the criminally insane that houses some of the nation’s deadliest, most frightening psychopaths.  But when a freak storm cuts off all communications and causes a massive power outage, the prisoners get loose... and find there is nowhere to go.  The blizzard rages outside.  The inmates are now in charge and the staff must band together to survive.

And then they all discover that the inmates aren't the most dangerous thing about The Loon.  Because below the prison is a secret place.  A dark place.  A place where a creature of monstrous appetites has been born.  And it's very, very hungry....

REVIEWS:

"It's always so nice to find one where hardcore asylum-crazy is done RIGHT! As opposed to, say, the Hollywood version....  THE LOON is, hands down, an excellent book." - The Horror Fiction Review

"Highly recommended for horror and thriller lovers. It's fast-moving, as it has to be, and bloody and violent, but not disgustingly gory. The Loon also includes a fun element of mad science to make this a well-developed 'mad science and medical experimentation gone wrong' story. Collings knows how to write thrillers, and I'm looking forward to reading more from him." - Hellnotes

Check out my interview with Michaelbrent.  

Follow Michaelbrent on Facebook and Twitter.  

N0S4A2.

Title/Author: N0S4A2 by Joe Hill.

Illustrations: Gabriel Rodriguez.

Genre:  Horror. Fantasy.

Publisher: William Morrow.

Source:  Purchased.

Synopsis:  Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions.    On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takesher wherever she needs to go, whether it's across Massachussetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the N0S4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing - and terrifying - playground of amusements he calls "Christmasland."

Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble - and finds Manx.  That was a lifetime ago.  Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx's unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget.  But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen.  He's on the road again and he's picked up a new passenger: Vic's own son.  ~Goodreads.com

My Thoughts:  It's difficult putting into words how much I loved this novel.  I finished reading N0S4A2 early July and have been trying to write this post since then.  While I could discuss this story forever, to convey all my emotions and thoughts into one post has been an extremely daunting task.  I kind of just want everyone who loves Horror, who loves dark fantasy, who simply loves a good story, to read this.

Joe Hill's newest novel centers around Victoria, a very real, sympathetic and engaging character.  The actions of her parents shape her emotionally.  Her mother is distant and sometimes a little too hard on her.  Her father and mother fight a lot and they can't seem to keep their relationship together.  Also what shapes Vic is her unusual gift.  She can find things and uses her bicycle as the tool to travel to where anything is located.  Her mother's bracelet, her friend's toy and even "trouble."  With a capital T and in this case, it rymes with C.  As in Charlie Manx.   Unfortunately, this trouble follows her around for the rest of her life.

The thing is, Victoria is not the only one who has certain gifts.  Mr. Manx does too. Unfortunately, he is a very dangerous and evil man. An encounter with this evil rips her innocence away from her and  changes her even further.

"It sounded like delusion until you remembered that people made the imaginary real all the time: taking the music they heard in their head and recording it, seeing a house in their imagination and building it.  Fantasy was always only a reality waiting to be switched on."

Victoria breaks my heart.  Her self worth and self esteem are so low, she doesn't feel worthy of the love of her boyfriend and father of her child, Louis, nor of her wonderful son, Wayne.  She self sabotages her relationships and when it finally dawned on me why, I felt sad enough to cry.

"She felt she had never loved him the way he deserved - and that he had always loved her more than she deserved."

Another issue that she struggles with is that she has convinced herself that her gift was all in her imagination and even when eerie things continue to plague her, she chalks it up to insanity and self medicates with alcohol.   In spite of her being damaged, Vic is one of the bravest characters I have encountered.  When Vic's family is endangered she has to comes to terms with her gift and what's been happening in her life.  It seemed to me that she used her bikes to race away from herself.  To escape.  She was afraid she was insane and also afraid she was not because it is hard to say which would be worse.

I also love Louis.  He is so endearing and breaks my heart as well.  He is embarrassed because he is obese and a simple man with a tow truck business and couldn't keep his relationship with Vic together.  He feels he failed her, his son and himself.  It's odd when you think more of a fictional character than the character thinks of himself.  I rooted for Louis and wanted him to find the hero in himself.  I wanted him to become the man he wanted to be for Vic and for Wayne.

One summer as she tries to put her life and her relationship with Wayne back together, they find an old Triumph in their rented summer home and they make it their project to fix it.  I love the metaphor of this plot device.  As she rebuilds the bike, she rebuilds her relationship with her son and her own sense of worth.  A triumph.  Figuratively and literally.  Capital T.

Many readers don't associate beautiful writing with Horror, but N0S4A2 is filled with lyrical prose. The way that Vic's love for her child is described, the details of small things like buildings and seasons and the way light looks through windows.  Writing should help you see ordinary things in an extraordinary way and Hill accomplishes this.

...she loved the smell of the road: ashpalt baking and soft in high July, dirt roads wtih their dust-and-pollen perfume in June, country lanes spicy with the odor of crushed leaves in October, the sand-and-salt small of the highway, so like an estuary in February.

The style of this novel is exceptionally unique as well.  Some chapters end in the middle of a thought, and it made me feel as if I was jumping through space and time with the character.   It is jarring and a bit confusing but makes perfect sense.  It lends itself to the story and events.  I also loved the little drawings in the book -- the cartoons, the notes, the computer screen.  They add clarity to the story and helped bring me into the world further.

N0S4A2 contains the simple concept of Good versus Evil, yet the nuances of this tale, how the story branches out and the depth and complexity of the characters are epic.  It has everything - action, the supernatural, horror, love and a strong solid ending.

To Wrap it Up:  I not only have a new Joe Hill favorite, but a new favorite Horror novel.  N0S4A2 is tragic and heartwrenching, but a beautiful and deeply emotional saga.

Challenges:

Guest post by Erika Henrike - Michael Montoure and the Many Horror Shorts.

Michael Montoure and the Many Horror Shorts

I’ve been reading horror books for years now, although most of them tend to be from the years back, like HP Lovecraft and Clive Barker. For me, I just haven’t really found as many horror writers of the last decade to really capture me with their books, until I came across Michael Montoure and his collection of short stories.

Michael Montoure is probably not an author you’ve heard of too. That’s because he’s pretty much been exclusively publishing short stories, and those aren’t always the easiest thing to actually have an agent or publishing company pick up. Quite honestly, I’ve always found that short stories are where horror pieces are really able to shine. It’s like the perfect area for the genre, since a fully developed novel is never necessary to truly freak someone out or make them just have to keep the light on when they go to sleep.

His two major collections of short stories currently are Slices and Permanent Damage, both of which manage to offer an assortment of types of horror. There’s some psychological horror pieces like the short story ‘The Leak’ which introduces elements similar to the Tell-tale Heart, but with blood dripping from the floor above in an apartment. And then there are also some monster story type horror elements, like “Melt the Bullet, Blunt the Knife” which involved a type of were-wolf through the shapeshifting element of using a belt made from wolf furs.

Regardless of which kind of stories you might like the best, there’s always at least one kind of story you like in each of his one-man-anthologies.

Of course there are stories in there that also capture your sense of dark humor or amusement too. And what I mean by this is one of the stories starts of in a similar light to what you would expect from one of the recent vampire romance novels.

A girl named Nikki keeps wanting to find a vampire in the world so she could be immortal and enjoy herself forever, and maybe even find that hunky vampire out there for her. But as the story goes on, this whole time she’s being slowly lured in by this charming guy masquerading as a vampire, and then finally she realizes who the real vampire is. She realizes that vampires aren’t these pretty and amazing creatures, they are sad, lonely things that rely on others to give them the blood they need.

It was such an amazing twist in a story I initially wasn’t interested in reading, and I think because of the way it starts not everyone gives it a chance, but it is incredibly absorbing and interesting. And that is just one of the many short stories this author is constantly producing. He also has a massive collection of short stories he brings back too like the anthology Counting from Ten, which is actually a bunch of stories he did well before the other two books but was released later on (as far as I’ve seen).

And I know, I call him a horror writer, but not all of his work is totally horror-esque. He’s called himself a Dark Urban Fantasy writer too, but regardless all of his stuff has dark themes to them that pull from areas between the unknown and known, like a story on the faerie circles, or heck a frightening one about imaginary friends.

But despite the fact that he’s neither a totally well-known horror author or one that is ‘traditionally published’ he’s still become one of my favorite more recent horror authors and I just love being able to share what I can about his writing so hopefully others can enjoy it too!

About the Author: Erika Henrike is a sewing professional who loves talking about fashion, horror, and pretty much anything awkward and creepy-crawly. She is fond of the more odd and unusual knick knacks in the world and likes writing about them to share her interest with others. In her spare time she likes creating taxidermy dioramas and decorating her own purses.

The Fear Factor - Guest Post by Alex Woolfe

The Fear Factor

My first encounter with horror came, like most people, from fairy tales. My brother and I had some twelve-inch LP records (showing my age here!) of readings of Red Riding Hood and Snow White, complete with spooky sound effects. The lack of pictures made it scarier for me. I was left to imagine exactly what the wolf in granny’s clothing looked like. My older sister loved the ancient Greek myths, and I loved reading stories from her bookshelf of Medusa and the Minotaur. When I was a teenager, I read everything I could by Stephen King, James Herbert and Clive Barker. I loved horror films, too, especially Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. I was never as into Dracula or Frankenstein. In those films, the monster was too ‘centre-stage’. It was always the unseen or unknowable monster that intrigued and scared me. I remember going with a friend to see Nightmare on Elm Street in this old, rundown cinema in North London, and I swear we were the only two in there that evening, apart from this creepy old usherette. It was terrifying.

What is it I love so much about horror?  People often say it’s about finding a way of exploring your own fears in safety.  I’m sure that’s a big part of it.  When I’m reading or a scary scene, I often feel like I’m on a precipice or a very narrow path, surrounded by darkness.  I feel I’m somehow at the very edge of normal life, at the point where it fades into something quite wild and mad and out of control, and if I step off, I might never get back again, or if I do I won’t be the same.  It’s that feeling of being on the brink of madness that I find so addictive, and which brings me back for more each time.  I remember reading Where the Wild Things Are as a kid, and the illustration that got me each time was the one where the bedroom starts turning into a forest – the bedposts become trees.  Similarly, there’s a scene in Halloween when the main character is walking along a suburban street and the guy in the mask appears, for just a second, in the distance behind her. It’s the point where normality fades into something strange and inexplicable.  That’s what I find most freaky, and what I’m always searching for in horror fiction.

For me, the reason why the best modern horror stories and films work in the way that old-fashioned gothic horror doesn’t is because they’re set in worlds that we can relate to.  In my book, Soul Shadows, I deliberately chose a dull, rural setting, because, for me, the more ordinary the starting point, the closer it seems to real life, and therefore the scarier it feels when things start to become strange.  That’s not to say I don’t love a good old-fashioned horror tale by the likes of H P Lovecraft or Bram Stoker.  They’re full of drama and thrills, but they rarely take me to that nightmarish precipice, that proximity with madness, I was talking about earlier.  This may have a lot to do with the characters, which often appear a little one-dimensional: incredibly virtuous and brave, or else demonically evil. In the best modern horror, the main characters are ordinary people, with good and bad qualities, just like us.  We identify with them, we root for them, and when the bad stuff starts happening, we feel, in some way, it’s happening to us. 

Luckily, of course, it isn't.  And the best part for me is that, in the end, we can close the book, turn off the television, switch on the light, and breathe a huge sigh of relief. We survived!

Thank you Alex for your insightful observations and your experiences regarding fear.  It was always the unknowable monster that scared me the most too and I can appreciate the difference between prominent monsters and hidden ones.  

Please check out Alex's new novel Soul Shadows for more scares!

Estelle thinks that a stay in a remote cottage will give her the peace and quiet that she needs, but the nearby wood holds a terrible secret. Can she and her friend Sandor discover what’s going on in the mysterious military lab before it’s too late? 

Soul Shadows by Alex Woolf

Gripping, vivid, creepy – just some of the words used in early reviews to describe SOUL SHADOWS, the new novel by Alex Woolf publishing with CURIOUS FOX this April.

Tying in with a recent trend for YA ‘fright-write’, Soul Shadows can be compared to Charlie Higson’s The Enemy or Darren Shan’s series, in its ability to grip and scare in equal measure. Exploring themes like mental health, childhood psychological abuse and the morality of science, SOUL SHADOWS offers much more than a one-dimensional scare story. Through his central character, Estelle, Alex Woolf places the reader right in the centre of the action – Estelle is an immediately gripping, though clearly damaged and vulnerable, personality, and it’s the reader’s connection with her from the first page that makes the unfolding horror feel so true, so raw.

In the world of SOUL SHADOWS, Woolf explores what would happen if your shadow could come to life, and, ultimately, try to take your life. It’s a sinister concept which leaves readers jumpy and, literally, scared of their own shadow. Set in an unspecified rural English landscape there is a feeling of extreme claustrophobia as Estelle, and her friend, Sandor, try to escape the world of shadows.

Woolf admits he has been scared of shadows or the ideas of shadows for some time “I’ve always felt your shadow is a scary idea, sometimes the light or dark warps your shape and you catch a flicker of movement from the corner of your eye, rationally you know it’s just your shadow, but what if...what if...I began to think – and then Soul Shadows was born.”

“Wow! Soul Shadows had me gripped from the beginning to end. The writing style is very vivid and descriptive which is perfect for this creepy story.” Comacalm’s Corner blog

“I thought this book was brilliant; it was extremely gripping and had just the right amount of horror to scare you!” Hannah, 15 years old

Known for his successful sci-fi Chronosphere trilogy, Woolf has been a full- time writer for over a decade after leaving his job as a non-fiction editor in 2001.

He lives in North London with his Italian wife and two children. In his spare time, he likes to play tennis, draw sharks, watch horror movies and teach himself the piano

Tribesman.

Title/Author:  Tribesman by Adam Cesare.

Genre: Horror.

Publisher: Ravenous Shadows.

Source: Purchased.

Favorite character:  Jacque.

Synopsis: In the early 80’s — at the height of the ultra-violent “Italian cannibal” grindhouse film craze — a small international cast and crew descend on an isolated Caribbean island, hoping to crassly exploit the native talent.

But the angry, undead spirits of the island have a different, more original script in mind. And as horror after staggering horror unfolds, the camera keeps rolling. To the blood-spattered end...

My Thoughts:  "Ew.  He he he.  Ew.  He he he."  That's the reaction I had while reading Tribesman, a no holds bar out and out slasher tale.  It has the supernatural, gore, great characters and more gore.  Taking place in the height of the golden era of Slasher Flicks, the 80s, Tribesman gives a close look at the world of filmmaking on a shoestring budget.  I would have to guess that Adam Cesare worked in film to bring the details of producing, camerawork and scriptwriting so easily to the page. 

No fluff here, no meanderings of prose, and yet I still got a sense of who these characters were in the short time I knew them.  I adored how some of the characters are over the top, yet real...because we've all met people like the creepy leading man and sleazy director who don't realize really there is anything lacking in their persona.  They are made all the more realistic by the calm screenwriter Jacque and the inexperienced female lead, Cynthia.

I also loved how each chapter switches to a different member of the crew/cast.  It seemed to me that this style was another reflection of a movie as the scenes play out.  Also unique is the punch the story has.  The horror starts quickly and never lets up.  The writing is direct and colorful.  It is simple without being over simplified.

This is a novella I enjoyed reading and once I started I didn't want to stop.  The story flows quickly toward the end *Spoiler Alert: where I was happy to see the quintessential Final Girl prevails.  If you don't like blood, violence and killing this is not the story for you.  If you do, then it will more than satisfy your thirst for a good dose of the grisly.

All in all:  A straight shooting horror story.  Fast paced and fun.

Challenges:

Charla.

Title/Author: Charla by Alexander Beresford.

Genre: Horror.

Publisher: Black Bed Sheets Books.

Source: Purchased.

Favorite character: Charla.

All in all: A creepy and unsettling read.

Synopsis: A mother. A daughter. A demon.... Charla kept her unsettling hatred towards her daughter Amelie a secret for so long, but over time it became harder for her to quench her morbid impulses without raising concerns. One lonely dawn, Charla ...divorced, pained, unhappy... ignited events which invoked a horrible demon to disrupt her twenty-five year old's picture perfect life. She put her terrifying scheme into action ... and the demon began its wave of hell. ~Goodreads.com.

My Thoughts:
I love when stories explore a screwed up relationship between moms and their children.  There are so many levels and layers to explore.  So when Darkeva recommended Charla I put it on my TBR pile right away. 

I think that Charla, the mom in this book is a fascinating character.  She is dark and selfish and hates her daughter Amelie, who she feels has had an extremely easy and priveledged life, which is in direct contrast to her harsh upbringing and past.  She does things to punish her daughter including pulling her hair when she's asleep to hitting on her fiance.  Finally, she conjures a demon to torment Amelie.  It's very heart wrenching when the person who is supposed to love and protect you the most is the one who causes the most damage. 

I enjoyed the scary aspects to this story and I think the horror will appeal to lovers of the genre.  The unsettling feelings that Amelie experiences to the sinister thoughts and deeds of Charla.  The demon that Charla conjures starts his (or mayber her) terror slowly and then as the story progresses so do the horrific events until the final culmination that is a dire warning to those who think they can really control outside forces.  I have to say, I really loved the ending. 

I was also surprised that the author was male because he wrote the female characters (especially Charla) with an honesty that came naturally.  This is an example of just writing the character without worrying about whether a female would really do A, B or C.  Charla is just Charla. 

I just had a few issues with the writing.  At times I could see the honed skills shining through and then at times I felt the story could have been more polished with just a few more scenes and dialogue re-visited.  However, this is a story that I really enjoyed and the creepy parts and dynamics between Charla and those in her life are fascinating. 

You can check out Darkeva's review of Charla HERE.

Author Interview - Hunter Shea.

Horror authors.  There's nothing quite like them.  I always find they have a jolly outlook on life and Hunter seems no different.  I also found a kindred spirit in his love for Halloween.  "There's nothing about October that doesn't elevate my soul."  A beautiful, classic quote that sums it up for so many. 

1. What is your writing process like?

When I’m working on a novel or novella, I try to write every day. If I can get a couple of hours in each weekday and then cram about 8-10 hours on the weekend, I’m a happy (and not a dull) boy. I’m not big on spending weeks or months working on an outline. I do jot down ideas, snatches of dialogue and scenes and there’s always research, but mostly I let my mind do a lot of the prep work. I like the story to evolve as I’m writing. Every book I’ve ever written ends far differently than I thought it would. Characters die that I felt would be standing, plot twists flow from my fingers before my brain can catch up. It’s really quite amazing what your subconscious can do. It’s where all writers live. The key is to open the door so it can speak.

2. I know that authors don’t like to pick a favorite, but is there a book or story that you enjoyed writing the most? One that affected you the most? Or had an impact on you the most?

That is a tough one. My first book, Forest of Shadows, took years to write and when I was done, I was shocked by how much of myself and my life was scattered throughout the manuscript. My wife and I had recently emerged from a very dark time and all of my fears and anxieties were there. The fact that Forest is the book that got me rescued from the enormous slush pile makes it a personal favorite. When it comes to having fun writing, my novella Swamp Monster Massacre takes the top spot. I’d always wanted to write a monster book, especially something about Bigfoot. And, I love books and movies where you have a gaggle of distinct characters, throw them in the abyss, and watch them get picked off one-by-one. I have to say, the words flowed non-stop and what would normally take me months only took weeks.

3. Have you seen a change in your writing or storytelling with each book you’ve written?

I have noticed that my approach to each has been very, very different. From the subtle ghost story that focuses on characters (Forest of Shadows and next year’s Sinister Entity), to the visual and extreme of Evil Eternal and the action-packed, darkly comedic Swamp Monster Massacre. For me, the story dictates the style. I like to play around with my ‘voice’, but I think people can see a common thread running through all of the books. Like physical exercise, now that I have deadlines and multiple projects, it’s getting easier. Falling into the flow is as simple as sitting down and tapping on the keys. I’m learning a lot working with my fantastic editor, Don D’Auria, as well as my agent, Louise Fury. They’ve helped me to tighten up my prose and make it more impactful.

4. I saw that you spoke at Spotlight on Success and made appearances at Horrorfind and Horrorhound. Can you tell us a little bit about these experiences?

For Spotlight, I was part of a paranormal panel down in NYC. We had a live audience and it was being filmed as well. That was just a fun night where we got to talk about ghosts, my favorite subject. I was accompanied by Jack Campisi, my partner on our Monster Men podcast, as well as 2 guys who run paranormal groups and 2 psychics. We’ve kept in touch with the psychics and may all get together for an event of our own. Being a horror fan, I’ve been going to horror cons for years. So it was strange to be sitting on the other side of the table at Horrorfind and Horrorhoud. And when I say strange, I mean pinch-me-I’m-not-dreaming, holy-crap-this-is-amazing kind of strange. I got to meet new and old fans, saw some incredible costumes walk by and had some very close encounters with a handful of celebs. What’s not to like?

5. Why horror? What attracts you to the genre?

I grew up watching horror. From B movies at drive-ins to Chiller Theatre on TV, I’ve been addicted since I was about five. I love the tension as you wait for the monster to pop out. I’m especially intrigued by the metamorphosis of characters as they unwittingly (or wittingly) fall prey to the impossible and plain awful. My first adult book I ever read was Stephen King’s Night Shift. I was hooked. As a teen in the 80’s, my passion for horror was aided and abetted by the tremendous horror boom in the publishing industry. That was also the decade of Jason, Freddie, Michael and a host of other horror classics. How could I not love horror?

6. I’m going to assume Halloween is your favorite holiday. What do you love about it?

Well, each year I make sure that I spend every free moment in October immersed in horror novels, movies and activities. I actually save up books and movies during the year so I can dive right in on October 1st. Fall is also my favorite time of year, so there’s nothing about October that doesn’t elevate my soul. I love it when the air gets crisper, cleaner and the night creeps in sooner. On Halloween itself, I’ll dress up right alongside my kids, take them out trick or treating for a while, then pass the baton to my wife. I spend the rest of the night handing out candy to the neighborhood kids and jawing with the parents. I think we gave out candy and juice boxes to over 300 kids last year. It’s a neighborhood party! When I go home, I’ll catch some of the annual Ghost Hunters live show and a movie. A perfect ending to a perfect month.

7. What are you currently reading?

I’m midway through Hemingway’s Boat, by Paul Hendrickson. I’m a Hemingway fanatic, and surprisingly, I’m getting some new info from this latest biography. As writers, we all need a little Hemingway on our shoulders, barking at us to write true and concise and to rip out anything extraneous. And I know he’d be a hell of a drinking buddy.

Bio:
Hunter Shea is the author of the novels Forest of Shadows, Evil Eternal, Swamp Monster Massacre and the upcoming Sinister Entity. His stories have appeared in numerous magazines, including Dark Moon Digest, Morpheus Tales and the upcoming anthology, Shocklines : Fresh Voices in Terror. His obsession with all things horrific has led him to real life exploration of the paranormal, interviews with exorcists and other things that would keep most people awake with the lights on. He is also half of the Monster Men video podcast, a fun look at the world of horror. You can read about his latest travails and communicate with him at www.huntershea.com, on Twitter @HunterShea1, Facebook fan page at Hunter Shea or the Monster Men 13 channel on YouTube.

To order an e-copy of Swamp Monster Massacre click HERE.
To order an e-copy of Evil Eternal click HERE.
To order an e-copy of Forest of Shadows click HERE. 

CONTEST:
~Hunter is giving away one (1) e-copy of Evil Eternal.
~Leave your name and e-mail address on the Rafflecopter form.
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RULES:
~Please see my contest policy HERE.
~Contest ends on Saturday, October 22, 2012 at 12:01 a.m.
~The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter.com.

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Carrie.

Title/Author: Carrie by Stephen King.

Genre: Horror:

Publisher: Anchor.

Source: Purchased.

Favorite character:  Tommy and Sue.

All in all:  Strong, classic horror novel.

Synopsis: Stephen King's legendary debut, about a teenage outcast and the revenge she enacts on her classmates. 

Carrie White may have been unfashionable and unpopular, but she had a gift. Carrie could make things move by concentrating on them. A candle would fall. A door would lock. This was her power and her sin. Then, an act of kindness, as spontaneous as the vicious taunts of her classmates, offered Carrie a chance to be a normal and go to her senior prom. But another act--of ferocious cruelty--turned her gift into a weapon of horror and destruction that her classmates would never forget. ~Goodreads.com

My Thoughts:  The story of Carrie is an icon, an urban legend as well known as Bloody Mary and the Ghostly Hitchhiker.  I don't think I even needed to include the synopsis.  Perhaps this is why I had never read it until I co-hosted the Stephen King Read-A-Long with Midnight Book Girl.  I knew the story, saw the movie(s), heard the tale from friends, but I didn't know the full story until I read it.

This was King's first published novel, rescued from the trash by his wife Tabatha.  It's raw when compared with his later work, but a great story with complex characters that are relatable, a plot that moves and twists.

What surprised me is that it is the story of Sue as much as Carrie.  The two mirror each other.  Sue is popular and has it easy.  Carrie is the misfit that everyone picks on.  They both have revelations.  Sue realizes she is on a trite path, "Suzy Creamcheese" she calls herself in a moment of self loathing, which leads her to pursue an altruistic act.  Carrie comes into her power with her Telekinesis.  She realizes that she can protect herself if she chooses.  The reader realizes that there is more to both young women than meets the eye. 

The book is filled with news reports, court testimony, published papers and journalist's analysis as well as an omniscient viewpoint of a few characters to tell about the events.  However, instead of being confusing, this moves the story along at an incredible trajectory and creates tension, drama and insight.  I thought it interesting how there are different camps to the story.  Some feel that the Telekenesis a fabrication, that Sue and Tommy orchestrated Carrie's ultimate humilation, that Telekenesis must be studied further, that Telekenisis must be hidden. 

I also remember that during the World Horror Convention one of the speakers stated that Carrie started in blood and ended in blood, and I was curious to discover the symbolism for myself.  When Carrie starts menstruating, that is when her powers gain strength or perhaps they have bubbled over the surface.  This is the beginning of the end for her soul, according to her evangelical, abusive, insane mother. 

My only complaint and King does this frequently, is the asides, the "...the time whens..."  While it adds to the dimension of the character and their actions,  I don't always feel they are necessary and sometimes take me out of the story.

I think this book is terrific and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.  However, what I enjoyed more were the discussions that ensued from it from the Read-A-Long I co-hosted with Kate from Midnight Book Girl.  To discover more of what I thought (and others too), click on the discussion links below:

1. Carrie Read-A-Long Part One: Blood Sports.
2. Carrie Read-A-Long Part Two: Prom Night.
3. Carrie Read-A-Long Part Three: Wreckage.

Other editions:



Challenges: